Chuck Schuldiner Project

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Interview with Butch of Argus

Armed with an
armada of heavy songs inspired by the old great ones of heavy metal, Argus are the kind of that prove that
the roots of the genre haven't dried out and that there is still some ground
left to explore if one decides to combine their taste for the old-school
together with forward-thinking ambition. Just listen to some of their stuff if
you haven't already and you'll understand what I mean. It's heavy, it's epic,
and it's got pretty much everythingelse
you'd want from a heavy/doom band.

I was lucky
enough to get in contact with the bands' vocalist Butch and ask them a few quick questions about their recent European
shows, their latest releases as well their perspective on the state of Heavy
Metal today.

-First off, when did the band come together and how did the members end
up connecting?The band is we are known came
together in 2006. Argus existed as a kind of groove/stoner metal band and
those guys all knew each other from high school and the scene up in the
Franklin, PA area. I met the band at a time when I was without a band and
their singer was playing his last gig with them. I spoke to Kevin, our drummer,
after their set and we hit it off and after a few phone calls I came out to
audition and it grew from there. We dropped almost all of the old material and
started building our music based around our love for Iron Maiden, Candlemass,
Thin Lizzy, Slough Feg….stuff like that. Heavy, powerful, melodic and with
great guitar harmonies, a tight and aggressive rhythm section and powerful
vocals.

-For those out there who've yet to discover your band, how would you
describe the music you play?It’s metal. I don’t know what else
to say really. We prefer not to be pigeonholed into some sub-genre. But we are
heavy, melodic, epic at times, moody and have moments or shades of doom and
little progressive minded flairs. I always throw out the description of Iron
Maiden, Thin Lizzy and Black Sabbath in a blender. It is simply high quality
heavy metal.

-Last April marked your first appearance at Roadburn Fest, how did that
go? It was amazing. We were treated
like rock stars by Walter and his staff. The sound and lighting was phenomenal.
The Green Room was packed from the time we started until we hit our last note.
It truly could not have gone any better. It is one of the highlights of my life
and a true honor to play Roadburn. It’s the most professional operation out
there. Simply amazing.

-What were your impressions on European audiences?We love European audiences. They
are so passionate about their music. Their love for heavy metal. They sing,
they cheer, clap…. They don’t just stand there with their arms folded in
front of them. If they like you they will show you. I love playing in the
USA but Europe takes it to another level.

-How and when did you get hooked
up with Cruz Del Sur Records?I initially contacted Enrico around
the time of our debut but, at that time, we were a new band and he preferred to
not have such an unknown on the label yet. When it came time to do the second
album we were in contact and with some help from Tom Phillips (While
Heaven Wept) as well we came to an agreement for “Boldly Stride the Doomed”.

-Who writes the lyrics in the
band? What do the lyrics usually deal with? I've picked up some references to historical
events, notably the Manhattan project and other war-related lyrics on your
latest album.I write the lyrics. They are mix of
personal, historical or storytelling. Generally whatever strikes my mood. I’ve
gone from adaptations of Poe and Lovecraft to historical stories such as the
Endurance expedition to Antarctica in 1914 (By Endurance We Conquer) to
personal issues like growing old (Wolves of Dusk), gaining strength through
loss (From Darkness…Light), my children (Four Candles Burning). The next album
will be almost exclusively personal and very dark. Trinity from “Beyond
the Martyrs” was, indeed, about the Manhattan Project.

-Could you tell us a little more about the great cover artwork to your latest
record "Beyond the Martyr"?Brad Moore does our artwork and we
basically gave him some very very rough ideas and let him run with it. He
hasn’t let us down yet. He does great work and is a good friend as well. Very
talented dude.

-Earlier this year you also
released a single titled "Death Hath No Conscience". Could you tell
us a little more about this single and what it's about?It was a song initially to be the
start of our fourth album but we decided to do a 7” to coincide with our
appearances at Roadburn and in Dublin. Lyrically the song was inspired by
someone I loved very dearly who had been through a horrible stretch of tragedy
in a short period of time…losing her mother, younger brother and her father who
at the time was very ill and later also passed. I felt incredibly sad for her
and her family and wondered why good people had to suffer so much when there
are so many bad people in the world. I was angry at what the world was doing to
her and her family. This song reflects the indiscriminate and cold and
unfeeling nature of death. Death doesn’t care what she leaves in her wake. So
the title “Death Hath No Conscience” came to me and within two hours the lyric
as you hear it was completed.

-Your music is deeply rooted
within the foundations of old-school heavy and doom metal. What is your take on
some of the emerging subgenres of metal music as well as the evolution of heavy
metal music today? I can hardly keep up with all the
subgenres out there. We don’t concern ourselves with that. I can tell you that
from vets like Iron Maiden to young bands like Visigoth and in between there is
a ton of great metal being recorded. I’d be here all day listing bands.
Not every band is unique but many are passionate and more importantly writing great
songs and that is the key – songwriting. If your songs are good no one really
cares if you sound like someone they’ve heard before. If you out yourself into
it, if you put yourself out there then it will come across in your music. The
scene is healthy creatively for sure. It is hard for bands though – touring is
expensive, labels are more concerned with sales than developing artists, and
sales of physical product are way down… But metal is like the cockroach of the
music world. You can’t kill it. It can live through a nuclear holocaust.

-I've read that you are currently working on your upcoming fourth
full-length effort. What can we expect from Argus with this upcoming release?We have 4-5 songs in process of
writing. With two new members in the band, Dave Watson on guitar and he
is already setting himself up as an integral part of the writing team and
Justin Campbell on bass who brings a ton to the table in terms of ideas for
every aspect of the band. You can expect it to sound like Argus with the
edges pushed out somewhat. We don’t believe in stagnancy or repeating
ourselves. This album will have some more somber moments. There is a song in
process called “No Right to Grieve” that should end up being a real
heartbreaker of a song. It will be a mix of stuff though from uptempo songs to
doomy bits to moody passages and of course great harmony guitars. I don’t think
this next album will disappoint our fans in any way. I don’t have a better feel
for it yet because we’re barely ¼ of the way into the process but I can tell
it’s going to be special. Lyrically I will be going more personal than I ever
have and it’s going to be emotional, sometimes dark, material.

-To close things off with our trademark question: could you name one of
your favorite albums, movies and books?

Album…. Hmmm… let’s go with Witch
Cross “Fit for Fight”….I’ve been playing it a lot lately. Great playing,
singing and the riffs on that album’s back half rival bands like Mercyful Fate.
Just such a great album that I’ve dug since I was a teenager.

Movie… The Wizard of Oz… I could
watch it a million times and never be bored. Not the most “metal” pick I could
have made but it is my favorite film since I was a kid.

Book… Nothin' to Lose: The Making
of KISS (1972-1975)… Quite a revealing look at how KISS began and rose to fame
and all the work that went into breaking them and turning them into
stars.

Interview by
Robin Ono

Thank you to Mark, to Brian and to
the rest of the band for making this interview possible! Rock on guys!